Many of the characters in the novel appear to be outrunning their past: Gatsby assumes his new identity, Daisy and Tom escape the scandal he caused in Chicago, and Jordan Baker buries the fact that she once cheated in a golf tournament. They are all in some way trying to forget who they were and what they did at that time in their lives. And yet, paradoxically, Gatsby also wants to relive select parts of his past, especially his brief affair with Daisy in Louisville. This desire is so consuming that Nick tells him in chapter 6 that he can’t repeat the past, to which Gatsby just responds, “Why of course you can!” He seems convinced of it. This doesn’t work out for him.